


I keep coming back to you

by ducks_elise



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Aziraphale studies English, Crowley is a Mess (Good Omens), Crowley studies history, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, First Meetings, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Human AU, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28918842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ducks_elise/pseuds/ducks_elise
Summary: Aziraphale volunteers at the university library. Crowley usually doesn't go there but he went with two of his classmates to study. He keeps coming back to see Aziraphale, their relationship develops from there
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This whole thing started because I can't keep Aziraphale and Crowley out of my mind for more than 5minutes even when I'm supposed to be studying. I tweeted this idea and people seemed to like it so there it is. Thank you all for the encouragement, I hope you like it. I'm not done with this yet, it's just the begining I'm not sure how many chapters there will be in total probably 2. This is my first multi-chapter story, I might update the tags later if necessary.  
> I know Crowley usually studies something like botany or astronomy but I'm terrible at science. I still have the memories of my first 3 years of British civilisation classes from uni, I never thought I would use this in a fic but well here it is. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Crowley liked the people in his classes well enough, but he wasn’t particularly fond of spending more time on campus than he really needed to. Unfortunately, sometimes he had to do that and go to the library to study with a couple of them for their next exam. He loved History but he wanted to focus on British popular culture. The conflict between the Jacobite and the British, or the battle of Culloden were not favourite topics. He didn’t really have a choice, so he went along with the rest of the group to study, he still needed to pass the class. That’s why he was on his way to the library right now to meet Hastur and Ligur.

He never went to the library on his own, a couple times on occasion just like this, he knew how to get there but he was tempted to take a detour and pretend he got lost on the way, but it wouldn’t be convincing he’s been here for the last four years. He might as well be there on time and spare himself comments from Hastur and go home early. Ligur texted him saying they weren’t there yet, Crowley walked into the building, but he forgot to get his student ID card out of his wallet before he found himself in front of the gate where you need to scan your card to get in. He grumbled to himself, he needed the card to book a room anyway. Crowley decided to walk around the library for a bit to see if Hastur and Ligur showed up, after five minutes he was bored so he decided to go to the front desk and book a room for the three of them.

Crowley recognised the woman at the desk, he’d seen her walking around campus. If he was honest, she wasn’t the kind of woman you could walk right past and not see her. In fact, you could see her from a distance, her bright red hair, colourful clothes and purple feathery gloves were a nice touch to her overall look. She looked like she would be the owner of an occult shop somewhere, maybe she did, all Crowley knew was she worked in the library and she was nicer than any of the other people he’d met so far on his rare trips to the library* .  He walked up to the desk, sauntered vaguely in towards the desk and had a more accurate description for what happened then.

* _He had no idea how much this was about to change._

“Hello, how can I help you, love?” the red-haired woman asked, Crowley didn’t know her name. 

“Hi, I need to book a room for me and two friends for a study session.”

“Do you need any equipment in the room?”

“Uh I suppose just a table and chair, thanks.”

“I can give you room 11, on the third floor on the right when you get out of the lift. I just need your student ID card and I’ll be right back with the keys for you.”

Crowley’s phone pinged, a text from Hastur telling him they would be there in 10 minutes. He replied telling about which room he would be in. He heard someone call a name somewhere on his left “Tracy?”, the red-haired woman went to them. So that’s her name, Tracy, suits her really.

“Sorry about that, here are the keys, you have the room for the next two hours. When you’re done just bring back the keys and we’ll give you back your card. If I’m not there when you come back just give your name.”

“Great, thanks.”

So, he had to go to the third floor, he could take the stairs, it’s not that far, but the lift means less effort and honestly Crowley needed as much energy as he could to deal with Hastur and Ligur right now. It also means that if he gets to the room faster, he gets more time to settle where he wants to and take up as much space as he physically can and then some. They weren’t even there yet, and Crowley was already tired and ready to go home. The lift was open, probably a sign he should just be lazy and use it instead of taking the stairs. He was a few paces away when the doors started closing again, he didn’t want to wait for it to come back down, it could take forever, and he would lose his extra five minutes of tranquillity. Before he could start a new plan to annoy Hastur and Ligur when they finally got here the doors opened again, apparently the person in the lift took pity on him and held it for him. Crowley loved to inconvenience people but this time he didn’t, he just took longer paces to make sure he made it in time but not so fast as to make it obvious he sped up. His heart was beating faster when he stepped into the lift, it couldn’t possibly be the result of his small effort to make it before the doors closed again right? it was nothing. The only explanation, not that Crowley would even admit it, was that the person who held the doors for him was one of the most beautiful people he’d seen. It wasn’t fair to look this good in a badly lit lift but the reflection of the light in the miror in the back made it look like there was a halo around those blond curls. Crowley was so caught up in that angelic image that he didn’t notice the cart full of books and almost tripped over it into that person’s arms. On the positive side, his embarrassment was a good excuse for the blush that crept up his face.

“I’m terribly sorry, are you alright?” the angel said, something that looked almost like guilt flashed across the soft features. “Which floor are you going to ?”

“Ngk yeah I’m fine don’t worry, didn’t see that thing here, I was distracted. “Third floor please” He noticed that the cart was in the way and he couldn’t really reach the buttons. “What are you doing with that?” He asked, pointing at the cart full of books. “You’re not trying to steal them from the library are you? Because if you are, you might want to think about a more discreet way to sneak books out of here than a big cart.”

I didn’t just say that? did I ? I really need to learn to shut up sometimes. It’s a library, you can actually borrow the books, you don’t need to steal them. 

“Oh I assure you I’m not trying to steal anything, but if I ever found myself in such a situation I will maka sure to remember your advice. I’m simply on my way to the third floor to reshelve these volumes that came back earlier.”

“You work here? That explains the whole librarian look with the button up shirt and bowtie I guess. Aren’t you a bit too young to be a librarian though?” It looks like the whole book theft story didn’t make a bad impression on the angel, that’s a good thing because Crowley wanted to keep the conversation going for some unknown reason. Holding conversations with complete strangers was not usually his thing, even having a conversation with people he knew annoyed him sometimes. 

“ I volunteer here but I’m technically not a librarian, simply a student but I help around a couple days a week, a nice reason to spend more time around books. You would think that as an English literature major I spend enough time with books. I’m sorry, you didn’t ask about all this, I didn’t mean to overshare.

Crowley wanted to reply that he didn’t mind at all, he wanted to know more about the angel. He tried to say it but before he could do that, the lift dinged and they reached the third floor, about to go their separate ways. He decided it was worth a try and said it anyway, “I didn’t mind at all, it’s really intersting actually, you seem different, in a good way.” 

“Oh, oh thank you, it was bothering me, really. I leave you to do what you came up here for, these books won’t find their place on the shelves on their own.” with that he walked away in the opposite direction. 

Crowley stood there for a moment, thinking about everything that just happened. A distant sound interrupted his daydreaming, it was a text from Hastur saying they were 5 mins away. Right, he could do with 5 mins, plenty of time to get his stuff ready and take up as much space as possible he told himself as he walked towards the room. The room was a nice surprise, larger than he expected and it looked confortable enough. He got his laptop out, it was almost as if the thing wanted to cooperate for once, it needed charging, there was only one outlet which means the cord gets in the way. He took the time to tie up his hair completely, he liked to have it in half bun but it was easier to get it out of the way when he was studying so he went for a bun instead. 

Hastur and Ligur got there late, but at least they showed up and with their textbooks and readable notes, which for them is quite the achievement.

“Alright, what do you know already, I don’t intend to spend more time here than I need to, I have other things to do, you know.” Hastur said his tone made it clear that study sessions with Crowley were not on his list of favourite activities. 

“I’m pretty sure I got the main idea behind the conflict between the English and Scots, the problem goes back to 1707 right?” Crowley was pretty sure he missed something but he couldn’t say what it was exactely.

“1707 is just part of the problem, it all started over a century earlier, in 1603. After ElizabethI died without an heir the throne went to James VI of Scotland, James I of England. That succession led to the Union of the Crowns. Basically you had 2 kingdoms, England and Scotland with one monarch James I of England.[...]”  Crowley stopped listening for a moment, there were so many names, dates to remember, it’s a lot to take in all at once, Hastur didn’t notice he stopped listening and taking notes. He probably should pay attention again, he didn’t make it all the way here for nothing. “...Glorious Revolution in 1688 when James II was deposed and replaced by his daughter Mary II and her husband William of Orange. Are you even listening to what I’m saying, Crowley?”

“Yeah, yeah I am, the Glorious Revolution and all that, fascinating really.” 

“Why don’t you explain the rest to him Ligur, politics are more your thing, I’m not sure I get the whole thing with the parliaments.” Hastur looked done for the rest of the session. Crowley didn’t blame him, he would leave if he could. Maybe he could find an excuse to leave the room and get a break.

“In 1701 Act of Settlement made sure that the succession to the throne of England went to a protestant monarch which meant that none of the descendants of Charles I could access the throne. Then in 1703, the two separate parliaments of England Scotland were replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain, in Westminster.” Ligur said, he obviously knows what he’s talking about. Crowley finally had a srtoke of genius, the perfect excuse to leave the room. 

“You know what, there are so many dates and so many names I think I need a visual representation of all that. I’ll go check if I can find a book with a timeline and maybe a family tree to figure out who’s part of which dynasty.” Crowley didn’t wait for a reply and simply left the room. He walked around for a moment looking for the history section, he wasn’t very familiar with the place, as he wandered past another aisle he caught a glimpse of blond hair, so pale it was the angel. His legs seemed to work independantly from his brain, before he even realised what was happening he was by the Angel’s side, history books forgetten for a moment. 

“Hello again Ang-'' Crowley stopped himself right before he finished the last word, he can’t call a stranger by the nickname he used in head could he? Then he didn’t know anything about said angel. He should probably ask. “Sorry, I don’t know your name and I called you that unintentionally, I’m sorry.” He could feel embarassment color his face an unflaterring shade of red. 

“It’s alright, dear, you can call me Aziraphale, that’s my name. What’s yours? we might as well get this out of the way.” a bright smile lit up his face, he didn’t seem uncomfortable Crowley thought it was a good thing because he didn’t want to make things awkward between them. He couldn’t explain what was happening or why but he had a feeling it wasn’t the last time he would run into Aziraphale. He wanted to see him again. “I’m Crowley” a satisfied grin formed on his lips. 

“Well it’s nice to be formally introduced. I suppose you’re a student here, what do you study?” Aziraphale seemed genuinely interested and a bit nervous. Crowley didn’t realise it right away but he decided in that moment that if he was to see Aziraphale more in the future he would make sure there would be no reason for him to be nervous.

“I study history, I like it but I’m not that interested in all the really old stuff, I prefer the 20th century, the second half actually. I’m really interested in the whole pop culture aspect, the changes in music, cinema… anything else is alright really, as long as it’s not related to the 14th century. Sorry, you didn’t ask for all that information… What do you study, let me guess, probably English.”

“You’re right, I do study English, I want to teach but I’m not sure if I would prefer to teach in school or at univeristy.” Aziraphale looked down at his hands as if he regreted sharing that with Crowley. 

“I don’t know much about you but it seems to me you would make a great teacher, you love your subject and that’s essential, you can’t really interest people in what you’re talking about if you’re not interested yourself, I think.” He noticed Aziraphale stopped averting his gaze as he talked, a pair of twinkling blue eyes focused on him listening attentively. He felt a wave of warmth course through his body. These soft soft eyes and blond curls were doing something to him, he couldn’t start thinking about it right now, better just push it in a far corner of his mind and avoid going there for as long as he possibly can. 

“Listen, I would love to spend more time talking with you but I was supposed to look for a history book about the 17th and 18th century in England, it’s sort of an escape plan if you will. I got lost looking for it, but maybe you could help me ? You know this place better than anyone I’m sure.” He said that because it was actually what he would have done if he’d seen anyone else working here but the good part is that he spent a bit more time with Aziraphale he wasn’t sure when that would happen again. The search of a book on the subject didn’t take nearly as long as Crowley wished it had, he actually had to go. He looked at his phone, they had about 45 minutes left before they had to leave and hand the keys back. 

“Thanks for the help, I really have to go now before they think I’ve dissapeared.” Crowley could hear the disapointment in his voice and he hoped it wasn’t too obvious. A look at Aziraphale told him that he wasn’t thrilled about that either, he almost looked sad.

“You’re welcome, that’s also what I’m here for. I do hope your study session goes well. Mind how you go dear.” Aziraphale flashed him a smile had only seen once before but he knew he wouldn’t get used to the way his face lit up, or the way it made his stomach flip* .  He made his way back to the room with the book in hand, he looked back before turning the corner and he was pleased to see Aziraphale still standing there, a faint shade of pink on his soft features. Crowley tried to suppress the grin on his face before going back into the room. There was no reason for him to smile like that in front of his classmates, especially not since he had left to get a text book. He took a deep breath and put on his best nonchalent expression before walking back in.

*  _ Crowley knew that when he ignored his brain and he got this sensation like someone was flipping crêpes in his guts something was happening but he could ignore it. As long as his heart didn’t try to beat its way out of his ribcage. It wouldn’t get to that, he wouldn’t let it happen because then there’s nothing he can do.  _

“There he is. What took you so long? Did you write the whole book while you were gone?” Hastur was apparently not pleased with the idea that Crowley left for almost 20 minute to look for a book. 

“It took me a while to figure out where the history books were and then I had to find one about the right subject. It doesn’t matter, I have it now and we still have time to use the room if you want.” Crowley was not in the mood to argue with Hastur, all he was thinking about at the moment was to go home and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day . *

* _ It was technically true, he didn’t plan on doing anything for the rest of the day, except talking to himself in the compagny of his plants like he often did. He just didn’t know what the topic of the day would be. _

“We still have the room for about 40 minutes but if you don’t have anything more to do I can go hand the keys back. I think I got it, I can manage with a text book now that I have all the basic information.” He really hoped they wouldn’t want to stay until they had to go, he didn’t want to spend more time with people for today.

“I think we’re good for today, we managed to do most of the work anyway.” Ligur seemed almost as done as Crowley felt, it was probably a good sign. 

“Alright, you guys can go, I’ll just take a few pictures of the illustrations and lock up when I’m done.” Crowley wasn’t lying he would make sure to lock up and put the book back where he found it. What he didn’t tell them was that he secretely hoped he would run into Aziraphale again before he left. 

Hastur and Ligur put their stuff away and left Crowley in the room. He was done taking the pictures right when they left, maybe he was rushing to put everything into his bag to leave because he desperately wanted to go home*. He made his way back to the shelf where Aziraphale had found the book he was holding, Crowley looked all around for blond but to no avail. He made his way downstairs, using the stairs this time. He saw that Tracy was still at the desk, he went to her to hand back the keys to the room. 

*  _ Also because he hoped Aziraphale was still working on reshelving the books. not that he was willing to admit exactely why just yet.  _

“All done for today, love ?”

“Yeah we were done early, I locked up, everything is in place.” He put the keys on the desk and looked around again as he waited for Tracy to hand him his student ID card. No sign of Aziraphale… Tracy pushed the card towards him “Here you go, you can come back to use the rooms anytime you need.” He mumbled a response that sounded close to “thanks, have a good day.” He usually wasn’t nice to people for no reason but something about her made him feel like he didn’t have to be so guarded and distant. 

He made his way back to his flat, he walked from his class in the humanities building to the library, it wasn’t that far really and he had his headphones, he always liked listening to music when he walked. Another One Bites the Dust started playing, every time the song played while he was walking Crowley found himself walking just a bit faster, to the beat of the song. By the time Crowley made it to his door all he wanted to do was to sprawl on his counch and not move for the foreseeable futur, maybe hide under a pile of blankets. Before he did that he had his plants to take care of, the anthurium wasn’t doing as good it should be and he wouldn’t accept leaf spots. Shouting at his plants wasn’t just a way to express his frustration, he also shared his ideas with them, some people did that with their pets, Crowley did that with his plants. He kicked his shoes and shed his coat by the door before making his way to the living room where he kept his plants.

“Looks like someone learned their lesson huh, I let it go once, but that’s it, one more leaf spot and you’ll be out before you can even think about something that might make me change my mind. That goes for all of you.” He said, looking around the room to address all the different plants. Now that the plants were dealt with, his mind wandered back to that image of Aziraphale in the lift, his hair forming a halo of blond curls around his head, and that smile, that radiant smile…

“What am I going to do now? I want to see him again, but I barely know anything about him except his name, what he studies and that he volunteers at the library. THE LIBRARY! That’s it! I just have to go back there, he’ll probably be there, won’t he ? I mean he said he loved spending time surrounded by books. I should find an excuse to go though, I can’t just walk in there and look for him, that would be weird. I mean I can look for him, but I need to come up with something to do, I don’t wan’t him to think I’m stalking him… I mean I went there to study with Hastur and Ligur today, there’s no way I’m doing that anytime soon, hmm I need to think about something coherent. Oh I know, the book I took pictures of earlier, I can always go back to borrow it, I don’t actually have to read it but it does give me a reason to go back, TWICE! I can borrow it and I have to bring it back.” Crowley often came up with his best ideas when talking to his plants, this is another opportunity to verify this theory. 

He thought about it on his own and decided he wouldn’t go back tomorrow, he had tos many classes, but problably the day after, he wasn’t sure he would have the patience to wait much longer before he had the chance to see the Angel again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of their adventures, it's pure fluff I have no excuse for this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I used the things I studied for this chapter. I have to thank my friend Ana for reading as I wrote it and giving me her advice and support. All possible mistakes are one me though.   
> I didn't think it would be this long but I had lots of ideas.

It had been two days since his last trip to the library, Crowley was getting restless. He wouldn’t admit it if you asked him but he hadn’t stopped thinking about Aziraphale. His last class just ended, he usually would go back home and do whatever coursework or reading it was he had to do but not today. Even if he tried to focus it wouldn’t work. His head was full of images of these soft blue eyes and bright smiles, just thinking about it now made him grin like an idiot. “this is ridiculous, I’m ridiculous, I barely know him”. His internal monologue continued as he made his way to the library. As he got closer to the building his heart started beating faster, the idea that he might have a crush on Aziraphale crossed his mind for a second but he refused to pay attention to, ideas and feelings thrive on the consideration you give them. If he ignored it for long enough it would disappear. He didn’t have a crush on Aziraphale, he didn’t have crushes on people, not anymore, it was pointless, the feelings were never mutual. Hope is a stubborn thing that doesn't go away, the smallest thing is enough to revive it. Right now Crowley was hoping to see Aziraphale again, he wanted to talk to him again, spend time with him. He stopped before walking into the library, to get his student ID card and try to stop his heart from beating out his chest. He made his way into the building, Tracy was there and she smiled at him.

“Hello love, you’re back soon! Do you need to book a room again?”   
“No thanks I’m good, I just came back to borrow a book I used the other day.”  
“Alright, just come back down here when you’re done and I’ll arrange everything for you.”  
“Thanks” Crowley didn’t know what else to say so he walked away and decided to take the stairs this time.   
He practically ran up the stairs. He was really hoping to find Aziraphale again. He could always browse the shelves if he didn’t find him right away, he might find some interesting books. The lift doors opened and Crowley could help it but check who walked through the doors. Unfortunately it wasn’t Aziraphale. Still that’s not a reason to be disappointed, lots of people used the lift here, just because it wasn’t him it didn’t mean Crowley saw him. instead of standing there like an idiot he went back to the shelf where he found the book he was looking for, it was still there. Looking at it now reminded him of his conversation with Aziraphale, he did say he studies English didn’t he? It gave him an idea about where he might find the angel. The literature section was on the second floor apparently, all the novels, essays on literature. Maybe Aziraphale would be here, caught up in some book. Crowley could probably have a look around and find a book he would like to read for once, who knows? Reading for himself was completely different, he actually liked it when he was free to choose what he liked and there was no pressure to read for a deadline and pay attention to everything to take notes. He didn’t admit it to anyone but Crowley did read some classics and enjoyed them. He didn’t really have a particular title in mind, perhaps something funny, he remembered reading bits of Gulliver's Travels a few years ago, he liked it. Surely it’s the kind of books you find in here. 

Crowley made his way down to the second floor, it looked rather empty, not a really good sign but Aziraphale might be around here somewhere. He didn’t seem like the kind of person who would dare to be anything less than extremely quiet in a library. 

He looked around for a few minutes, to his surprise he found a couple of books that looked promising, they might even be useful for his own classes. He was almost all the way in the back of the floor when he finally saw Aziraphale, he was sitting in a corner, a book in hand, he almost looked like he belonged in a painting from another century. He had no idea Crowley was there, which was an opportunity to take another look at him, not for too long that would be inappropriate. Slowly and silently Crowley walked to him. 

“Hello Aziraphale.” He said, more gently than he usually would, he didn’t want to scare him.  
“Oh hello dear, what a nice surprise, what are you doing here? If you don’t mind me asking of course, it’s just that it’s not where the books you needed the other day are, but I’m sure you know that.” Aziraphale was clearly nervous, he fidgeted with the hem of his waistcoat, a habit of his judging by the way it was more used than the rest. 

“I just came by to borrow that book you found for me the other day, turns out I need it again. it felt stupid to come all the way here for just a book and go back, so I figured I could take a look around. Then I saw you and thought I would say hello and thank you again for your help. I needed that break from the guys and the book is actually interesting and helpful.” Now who’s talking too much eh? Crowley was about to apologize for oversharing but he saw that Aziraphale had relaxed and a soft smile replaced the tense features of his face. 

“I’m glad I could help you then, with both. I take it that group work is not your favourite?”   
The question was genuine, almost like Aziraphale saw an opportunity to keep their conversation going and Crowley might have been an idiot sometimes but he wasn’t about to miss this chance. He wasn’t a big fan of small talk but again, talking with Aziraphale felt easy and natural, he felt like he was talking with him not just to him.   
“Not really but I make an effort from time to time, it does help to understand things better when someone else explains them to you. I tend to pay attention less when it’s something I’m not really interested in.”  
“What was it that you were supposed to be working on again? I might be able to help you, even if it’s just to find a book on the topic.” Aziraphale seemed determined to help, he looked up waiting for an answer. Crowley didn’t really need more books for this but if it meant spending time with the angel he could do that, he didn’t actually have to open the books.   
“oh yeah that would be great thanks, I just need to find one book here and we can go.” It was a good thing that Crowley finished his sentence before looking at Aziraphale again because there was no way he would have kept his dignity intact otherwise. That smile would kill him, Aziraphale had no right lightning up like that, Crowley wasn’t sure he could take much more. 

“Right take your time, while you do that you can tell me what you were working on so that I know where we need to go.”  
“We were working on 17th and 18th century English History, the Union of the Crowns, the Act of Union. We were also supposed to get to the battle of Culloden but we didn’t get that far, if I’m being honest I didn’t want to stay long enough to do that so I probably need to look for that too.”

“So you’re interested in this period of history, which one do you like then? If that’s not too forward of me to ask of course.”

“It’s fine, it’s no secret don’t worry. I’m more interested in 20th century history, post World War II, there’s so much to cover just in popular culture. It’s fascinating to see how historical events influenced the evolution of culture, music, cinema… anything you can think of, books even!” Crowley thought he would find Aziraphale completely bored listening to him talking about his interest, what happened was almost worse, he was expecting to see him being distracted, looking around but certainly not this. He was looking at him with genuine interest, like there was nothing else around them that could attract his attention. Crowley wasn’t used to people caring about what he had to say. With Aziraphale it was different apparently, he wasn’t pretending to be interested, he asked questions. Clearly this wasn’t helping with this growing feeling Crowley still refused to name. As nice as it was to have someone who was willing to listen, Crowley also wanted to know more about Aziraphale. It was alright to ask questions too, wasn’t it? Airaphale started after all, he could try and see what happened then. His questions would wait apparently because Aziraphale noticed he stopped talking and was wondering why. 

“Sorry, I didn’t get that, what did you say?” Crowley almost felt bad for not paying attention to what Aziraphale said when he obviously paid so much attention to what he was told. Crowley found the book was looking for so they made their way towards the stairs.

“It’s perfectly fine, it’s my fault, I should have given you time. I was asking you what options you were considering for your career, I know it can be an unpleasant question but I’m intrigued after what you told me about your interests in the field.”

“I need to look into it more but I was thinking maybe research might be good. I like the freedom it gives me in a way, to choose my subject, I mean there are requirements obviously but I have some liberty and the subject is broad enough that there’s plenty to talk about and lots of different ways to approach a topic. It means 4 more years as a student too, but I’m not opposed to it if it’s something I really like, I can put in the effort.”   
Crowley didn’t look away while he was talking this time. He saw Aziraphale’s interest shine through and it only made him want to talk about it more. Another good thing about discussing this with someone without feeling like he would be judged or ignored is that it confronted him in his idea that it’s the career he wanted to pursue. They were now on the third floor and went to the section that they were looking for. 

“Have you considered other options or is research the only prospect you’ve given serious thought? Not that there’s anything wrong with research, on contrary, I believe it’s extremely interesting, I have contemplated it myself, however teaching seems to be more appealing to me. The purpose of research is to bring answers to the questions we ask ourselves, on a variety of subjects. Some people might think that research in the humanities is not as worthy of attention as research in science but don’t believe this to be true. If you go so simply as to use the two subjects that we study, literature and History, life would be terribly boring if we didn’t have stories to entertain ourselves, and History, well, events happen whether you document them or not, so you might as well do, it helps understand why things are the way they are sometimes.” Aziraphale said all that with confidence, he was convinced of what he was saying and it made it more compelling, it made you want to listen to him and what he had to say. 

The only problem was that all that conversation was happening in a library, so people were here for the quiet atmosphere and for work so of course someone asked them to keep it down.   
They looked for a couple more books for Crowley and decided to go downstairs. Aziraphale was not working today, he was here for his own enjoyment. Crowley suggested that they go outside to finish their conversation, somewhere they wouldn’t have to worry about disturbing people.   
Tracy was still where she was when Crowley walked in earlier, he went to her to borrow the books, she went through the explanation about the return machines but Crowley wasn’t really paying attention, his mind was already far away from the library thinking about what was about to happen with Aziraphale. It was a confusing feeling, he was happy to spend more time with Aziraphale and he was scared of the consequences it might have on his heart.   
“ Do you want to go somewhere in particular or just stay around here, you decide.” It didn’t matter to Crowley where they went, all he was interested in was the company.   
“We could go for a walk in the park, it’s not that far and it’s lovely this time of the year, what do you say?”  
“Anything is fine by me, you know where you’re going so lead the way.” Crowley considered coming back to their conversation from earlier but he wasn’t sure how to approach the subject again, he could try something simple and see what happens. 

“I told you about my career plans, but what about yours? You didn’t get the chance to tell me more about it.”   
“Oh yes that’s right, that person was unnecessarily rude about our conversation by the way. Ah yes, I told you the other day about teaching, I do like that idea of sharing my knowledge with younger people, show them the magic words can hold, that something as simple as a story can change so much for a person. I’m well aware not everyone likes books, but that’s not all there is to do as a teacher. You’re also here to answer questions, make people question things, give them what they need to find their own answers. It’s funny that if we were to simplify it to the extreme, you chose to ask questions and I chose to answer them. We complement each other in a way. Maybe that’s why it’s so pleasant to spend time with you my dear.” Aziraphale was looking at him with a soft smile, waiting for a reaction.   
Crowley wasn’t expecting Aziraphale to say that, he put words on these feelings Crowley failed to identify. This was just more proof that what the angel said well and true. 

“That’s true, and research implies some teaching too, so it means I would build on what you’ve done before, use what they learned to find their own answers and expand on it.” He surprised himself when he sounded more composed than he felt. It was probably ridiculous but this detail that their perception of their roles in their respective careers complemented each other to form a sort of whole made his heart swell. The conversation went back and forth, almost as if they’d know each other for much longer than just three days. They covered an array of different topics, from what was best to feed the ducks, to where to find decent crêpes.*

(* Crowley made a mental note to take Aziraphale out for crêpes some time.) 

They’d spent hours in the park either walking around or sitting on a bench facing the pond. It felt like they both knew they had to say their goodbyes soon now the sun was going down and it wouldn’t be long before it was dark. Crowley didn’t have time to start talking to suggest they go home and meet again that Aziraphale’s smile disappeared, like he knew what Crowley was about to say and he didn’t like it either.   
“You’ve guessed what I’m about to say didn’t you?”  
“I’m afraid I have, it’s getting late after all, it might be better if we both made it home before it’s too cold, you’re not wearing much, I wouldn’t want you to freeze to death on your way home my dear.” Crowley’s eyes went wide behind his sunglasses as he saw Aziraphale move to undo his scarf and give it to him. No, no just give it to him, wrap it around him too. He wasn’t ready for the sudden proximity or the gentleness of the touch. Sure the tartan scarf didn’t match the rest of the aesthetic but in this moment he couldn’t care less, he wanted to bury his face in the fabric and take a deep breath. He still had an ounce of self control so he didn’t. 

“Wait how am I supposed to bring it back to you, I don’t know where to find you except at the library and I’m not even sure when you’re there.” Aziraphale seemed shy all of a sudden, almost as if he regretted giving his scarf to Crowley, or he was just reading too much into things again. One thing was certain, Aziraphale was blushing, that had to mean something, he was also avoiding Crowley’s gaze. 

“Well I suppose we could exchange phone numbers, isn’t that what friends do? It does make communication easier, I have to admit.”

“You consider me your friend?” Crowley was getting ridiculously flustered, he didn’t dare think Aziraphale considered him anything more than an accountant at best but this was great, at least Aziraphale liked him. Maybe not in the same way Crowley liked him, because yes, he was beginning to admit to himself he liked Aziraphale (he was definitely falling in love with the angel).

“Of course I consider you my friend, Crowley! Why do you think I accepted to come here with you? I assure you I don’t do this with every person who asks for my help at the library.” a chuckle escaped Aziraphale’s throat as he probably imagined doing just that.   
“Friends… uhm yeah seems right, I like that.” Crowley couldn’t remember the last time someone told him so clearly he was their friend, if that ever happened even. Focusing on the situation before him again Crowley got his phone out to hand it out to Aziraphale who was quicker than he was. It didn’t take long and they said their goodbyes. Crowley suggested he walk with Aziraphale back to his flat but it was in the complete opposite direction so the angel insisted he didn’t waste so much time and made it home safely. They agreed to let each other know when they were home.

Crowley didn’t even try to suppress the grin on his face when turned away. It was still there when he walked through the door 20 minutes later, probably because he got a text from Aziraphale earlier saying Thank you for the walk and great conversation. I’m home. We can arrange another meeting later, when your test is done. Aziraphale.   
That was even the best part, he saved his number as Angel, he remembered and apparently he liked it. There it was again this hope, it was getting bigger every time but this constituted solid evidence for Crowley’s heart, it didn’t matter that he might be reading more than he should in something like a text but apparently reason had decided to step away from the situation and let his heart go wild. Right now he needs to reply. He decided not to think about it too much and wrote: Made it, thanks for your help Angel, I’ll read the books, my test is in two days, I’ll come by the library after that to bring back the books. I had a great time. Let me know when you want to get your scarf back x

Aziraphale didn’t feel like the type of person who would respond immediately to a text. He probably forgot about his phone most of the time. Crowley put his phone down and went to his plants, he needed to talk about everything that happened, he would go insane if he didn’t. He needed to share all that before he sat down to study for his upcoming test.   
“So, we spent time together, that's perfectly fine, it’s fine. We’re friends, that’s what friends do, they spend time together, talk about things, they have each other’s number. nothing unusual here. The thing is what happened at the end, Aziraphale gave me his scarf! No, no he didn’t just give it to me, it’s worse! or better depends on how you look at it. He wrapped it around my neck! I just, ngk how can I just keep acting like everything’s fine? You have no idea how much I wanted to stop to take in the scent and the softness of the fabric.” He almost felt like the monstera had straightened up to listen to him. He did have an audience, just not one that answered his question or made comments about the things he said. “My plans to see him are a bit useless now, we’re friends, I'll meet him again at least once for sure, to give him back his scarf, probably another time when I return the books. Now I need to stop thinking about this for long enough to get some studying done.”

Studying proved even harder than Crowley suspected, not that it was too complicated, his mind simply refused to stop jumping back to the events of the day with Aziraphale. After about two hours he gave up and went to get his phone. Aziraphale replied to his text: Good to know don't forget to take breaks while you study. I won’t disturb you further.  
I will, don’t worry about it Angel. Talk to you later   
Crowley was almost disappointed he didn’t have time to meet Aziraphale again before his test. He needed to focus, he had time to see him afterwards.

________________________________________

Crowley’s plan to focus solely on his test until it was done didn’t exactly go as smoothly as he expected but he wasn’t really surprised. The test was today, Aziraphale sent him a text to wish him good luck. It was short and simple but enough to make his flutter. It wasn’t really the time to think about his growing feelings for Aziraphale. He couldn’t help it, apparently his friend had decided to do everything to prove Crowley had chosen the perfect nickname for him.   
The test should be easy enough, it was just an hour and half, the lecturer suggested doing that to prepare them for midterms in a bit more than two weeks now. It wasn’t particularly difficult, Crowley was glad he decided to go back for more books because they helped clarify some points he didn’t understand that were in the test. Now he just had to wait for the test to begin, just a couple more minutes. The presence of Aziraphale’s scarf in his bag proved more distracting than he anticipated.

He finished 15 minutes before the end, he was heading to the library to return the books and he might see Aziraphale there if he was lucky. Crowley could finally let his hair down again. A gasp caught his attention, he turned his head to the right where the sound came from. He expected anything but this, it took him by surprise, Aziraphale was standing there looking at him, blushing, when he realised Crowley saw him he looked down in an attempt to hide his flushed cheeks. It took Crowley a second to notice the two cups Aziraphale was holding. He wasn’t expecting Aziraphale to react like that when he saw him. Something else to go over later while he talked to his plants. 

“Angel?” He desperately hoped his voice didn’t betray all the emotions that were threatening to spill over and turn him into a puddle. “What are you doing here, I’m happy to see you, I thought you would be busy.”  
“I wanted to surprise you, I thought you could use a nice cup of coffee after your test. I do hope I didn’t overstep.” Worry took over Aziraphale’s face as he tried to fidget with the hem of his waistcoat but he needed both hands to hold the cups. 

“I really appreciate it Angel, thank you. I was just surprised that’s all. I was actually heading to the library to return the books, and maybe see you but here you are.” Aziraphale didn’t even wait for the end of that sentence to turn into a ray of sunshine, his smile was almost blinding. The kind of smile you couldn’t help but replicate. 

“I hope it’s alright, it’s black coffee, you didn’t strike me as a tea drinker. I do have sugar and condensed milk if you need.” Aziraphale hesitated for a second before handing him the cup.   
“Black coffee is perfect, thanks.” Crowley took the cup from Aziraphale’s hand, their fingers brushed. He could have sworn they both felt the tingling sensation at the contact. “I have to return the books, do you want to come with me? We can go anywhere you want after that, it’s still early, we have plenty of time.” Sometimes Crowley wishes he could tell himself to shut up before he said too much, he didn’t want to sound desperate. Aziraphale didn’t seem to think he was, he looked rather pleased about the suggestion actually.   
“Of course my dear, we can figure out where to go on our way to the library.”

Crowley simply nodded and started walking again. It didn’t take them very long to reach the library. Aziraphale remembered he had peas in his locker at the library, he remembered their conversation about ducks and what was the best option to feed them. Because Crowley couldn’t keep his mouth shut and was too curious for his own good he asked if it was because Aziraphale hoped to see him again and go back to the park. He asked the question just to tease the angel, very innocent, even if deep down he hoped it was the truth, he was still shocked it was actually what happened. Maybe, just maybe the hope that bloomed in his chest two days ago when Aziraphale said they were friends wasn’t that foolish after all. Something else to add to the list of things to tell the plants about. The trip to the library didn’t take long, Crowley dropped off the books while Aziraphale went to get the peas from his locker. When he came back he was all flustered.   
“Everything alright Angel?” That only made Aziraphale blush some more. That was strange, he seemed alright with the nickname before.   
“Absolutely my dear, I ran into Tracy on the way, she told me about something unexpected*, that’s all. Nothing you need to worry about.” He still didn’t look at Crowley, his gaze fixed on his shoes.   
“Alright, if you’re sure… Ready to go then?” Crowley resisted the urge to touch Aziraphale’s arm to comfort him, he wasn’t sure it would be okay, or a good idea. 

(* “Looks to me like someone is going on a date in the park then?” Aziraphale didn’t even manage a response to this and apparently it was enough for Tracy to know what she wanted. She had been telling Aziraphale that Crowley wasn’t just being friendly but he refused to allow himself to think she might be right**  
**She definitely is right, She saw through Crowley’s nonchalant attitude, he is completely smitten.)

“I should have asked you sooner but how did your test go?” Ariraphale was looking at him with such genuine interest, his voice so calm, Crowley could spend hours like that, feeling completely relaxed and unguarded, free to be himself, without the fear of being judged. It was something he didn’t know he needed and now it would be hard to go back to how it was before.   
“It was alright really, not as complicated as I expected it to be but it’s only part of what we’re supposed to do for midterms, a sort of training in a way. the books really helped too, I should come to the library more often I suppose.” 

He winked at Aziraphale. He wasn’t entirely sure why he did that but apparently Aziraphale understood that Crowley didn’t intend to come back to the library just for books if his sudden blush was anything to go by. Crowley smiling at the idea that Aziraphale seemed to like the not so subtle plan. What he wasn’t ready for however was the angel biting his lip. That small gesture effectively ruined all of Crowley’s effort to suppress his thoughts about kissing Aziraphale and not stare at his lips. The only thing on his mind at the moment was how to go back to breathing like a normal sane person, not a completely besotted fool before Aziraphale noticed something was wrong. He was utterly ridiculous, he’d know the angel for barely a week and he was already so far gone. The more time they spent together, the worse it got, they got along so well, they understood each other, they had their differences but it only made their conversations more interesting. Even when they were simply sitting together not doing anything or talking, it was nice, comforting in a way. Crowley still prefers to listen to Aziraphale talk, he does it with such clear passion you can’t not be compelled to listen to every word he says. Or maybe it’s just Crowley’s feelings for him that influence his judgement. 

“I started reading a collection of short stories, Kiss Kiss, by Roald Dahl, it feels very different from what I remember reading when I was younger.” 

“You know, I’ve actually read that one, I don’t remember all of them but I liked the first one, The Landlady, the cover of the book says it all, ‘Expect the unexpected.’.”. Aziraphale looked so surprised to hear that his friend read it, but then he looked so happy to have the opportunity to discuss this with Crowley that he actually wiggled in his seat. 

“Oh really? I still need to read the others but I think I like the collection. That poor woman just wanted company, she probably should have chosen a different approach though, it’s not very effective if you ask me.” Aziraphale was so serious about this Crowley couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his throat.   
“Really Angel?” he teased there was nothing mean in the question “ I would rather be alone than do what she did.”   
“Loneliness can make us do strange things, I suppose… not that it’s an excuse for what she did of course.”

One thing Crowley realised something important about Aziraphale, although he couldn't name it. Words always escaped him when he needed them, but he had his instinct and feelings to make up for the loss of words. Aziraphale never doubted the existence of good and beauty in the world, not that he didn’t see the darker aspects, he did, but it didn’t stop him. He loved it anyway, he would probably say something like, “The things you might see as flaws or problems are what makes it what it is, it makes it whole. There’s a little bit of negative in every good thing like there’s positive in bad things.” Some people might think he is just naive and oblivious, Crowley thinks it’s brave.   
Maybe it was strange that this particular conversation brought him to this conclusion but it was simply the missing piece that completed the puzzle. 

He didn’t realise how long he was lost in his thought about the Angel but Crowley came back to reality when he felt a gentle touch on his arm. 

“Crowley, dear, as much as I enjoy spending time discussing all manner of things with, including old ladies with questionable behaviours, I’m afraid I must go home now, I need to read the next short story actually.”

“Alright, no problem, I’ll let you go, sorry for taking up your time Angel…” Crowley was so caught up in the idea of spending time with Aziraphale that he didn’t think that he had things to do and exams to prepare for.

“There is no need to apologize, Crowley. I’m perfectly happy to be here enjoying your company. If I leave soon it means that we can see each other again tomorrow if you’re amenable of course.”  
How did he expect Crowley to say no, he was pretty sure it was beyond him, especially when Aziraphale smiled at him like that. He simply nodded, he didn’t trust himself to speak.

“I will see you tomorrow then. Let me know when you get home my dear.” Aziraphale almost went for a hug but he stopped himself, he didn’t dare to do more than step closer to his friend. Crowley noticed. He opened his arms to invite Aziraphale to close the remaining distance between them. Aziraphale wrapped his arms around him and he went still for a moment, it felt even better than he imagined. Their embrace lasted longer than a brief hug goodbye but neither of them wanted to let go.   
When they did Crowley felt his cheeks warm up he was almost embarrassed because of it but Aziraphale was blushing too, that didn’t help getting his heartbeat under control.   
“No problem, you can text me about the short stories if you want Angel, or we can discuss them tomorrow.” Aziraphale nodded and turned away.   
He made his way home faster than usual, he was almost there when he got a text, probably from Aziraphale. He waited to be home to check it wouldn’t be long now and avoided any risk of bumping into someone or something.   
The text was from Aziraphale.  
I am home. Thank you for a lovely time my dear. Aziraphale.

Such a simple shouldn't be making him smile so big but he couldn’t help it, he was happy that Aziraphale enjoyed their time together.He was so distracted by everything that happened that he forgot to return Aziraphale’s scarf.   
Great, I just got home myself, my afternoon was much better than I planned. I forgot to give you your scarf. I’ll bring it tomorrow. Enjoy Kiss Kiss... x

Right, it was time to unpack everything that happened today. It was probably easier to start with the first detail he noticed. Aziraphale said they were friends but the more time they spent together the bigger this hope that they could be more grew. Soon his chest wouldn’t be large enough to contain both that hope and his frankly ridiculous crush. He went to inspect the leaves on the ficus it had slacking recently. 

“Right, so Aziraphale blushed a lot today, I can’t say why for sure, but it didn’t feel like he was embarrassed. You don’t lend your scarf to someone you’re comfortable around do you? So many things happened, how am I supposed to stay relaxed when he’s so perfect in every way? He brought me coffee after an exam!! What do you expect me to do in a situation like that? You’ve known me long enough to know rational explanations are not my thing.”   
Crowley was pacing in the room, his plant mister in hand as made his rounds of inspection. “Alright, you think I’m reading too much into this but what do you say about this then ? He gasped when I untied my hair and then he was blushing and avoided looking at me. When we said goodbye we hugged, not just a quick hug, it lasted longer than usual, he didn’t want to let go, neither did I but you know that already. I’m meeting him again tomorrow, I guess we’ll see what happens.”

Crowley was thinking about everything that happened for the rest of the evening, something he forgot to tell the plants was when he made sure Aziraphale knew he wasn’t visiting the library just for the books and that he bit his lip “You can’t even imagine how hard it was not to kiss him right there, he’s gonna kill me if keeps doing that.”  
He spent the rest of his evening rereading some of the short stories in Kiss Kiss, one in particular reminded him of Aziraphale, maybe he knows about it already. 

________________________________________

It was probably a good thing that Crowley had just one class this morning and then he was free for the weekend. He had one more week of classes as usual. The week after that was the last one before exams, they only had 2 or 3 lectures to give them time to study.   
Aziraphale had agreed to see him again today, but they didn’t say where or when. Crowley waited until he was done for the day before texting Aziraphale to ask. By then he had a text suggesting they meet after lunch in front of the humanities building. 

Crowley waited for Aziraphale on a bench a little to the side. Of course Crowley refused to sit like any other person would. This time he chose to change things a bit and sit on the backrest with one leg dangling to the side and the other one in front of him on the bench, his foot where he was supposed to sit. It didn’t take long for Aziraphale to find him. 

“Hello my dear” He was smiling as usual but Crowley could tell he was about to say something and he was waiting for the greetings to be over to do so. 

“Hey Angel, how are you doing? No work at the library today?” Crowley was just teasing, pushing back the moment when Aziraphale could say what he wanted to say, probably a comment on his current position. 

“I’m alright, thank you for asking, you are feeling well I presume, if your devilish grin is any indicator. No, I told Tracy I had other activities for today. It’s not a problem given all the extra hours I do the rest of the time. Now must you sit like that on the bench, Crowley? People sit there and you put your foot on the seat. Even if you don’t care that people actually use benches like that, it can’t be comfortable.” 

Crowley didn’t even try to stop the laugh that escaped his throat, he was expecting this reaction. Of course, politeness came first and the questions he asked found their answer but it wasn’t the first time that Aziraphale commented on his friend’s strange habits when it came to sitting, on any time of furniture for that matter. 

“I knew you were going to say something Angel, I saw it on your face, the little scrunch of your nose betrayed you. What would suggest we do today then, anything that involves sitting?”  
He raised an eyebrow in question, waiting for Aziraphale’s reply. 

“We’ve been to the park quite a lot in the last few days, but there’s another area I want to see, nature is slowly coming back to life. I wanted to go sooner but I was busy, I think you’ll like it. We could sit in the grass, I packed a blanket just in case, or there are benches.” He pointed to his bag, where the blanket was, along with what looked like a thermos. 

“Lead the way Angel, we can choose where to sit when we get there.”

The walk to the park was mostly silent, companionable silence, Crowley enjoyed the few flowers he saw growing again. It reminded him that mimosas* would start blooming soon, he really wanted to go in the South of France when all the trees started booming. Maybe he could take Aziraphale there too, he would look gorgeous among all the little yellow flowers. 

(* The trees, not the drink although he enjoys both.)

The grass was too damp to sit in, even with a blanket so they sat on a bench instead. Crowley, always ready to come up with a different position. He chose to sit facing Aziraphale, one knee to his chest and his leg stretched out to the side. Aziraphale simply sat down, turning to face Crowley. He gave up on saying something about the situation and took the thermos* out of his bag and offered tea. Crowley declined and turned his head to look at a plant, he didn’t recognise it from this far.. He felt Aziraphale staring at him, he checked from the corner of his eye, it looked like his friend was biting his lip. He couldn’t be sure. Crowley was wearing his hair down, apparently Aziraphale liked his hair down then.

(* It has a tartan pattern)

“Have you read as much as you wanted in Kiss kiss?” Crowley drew out the “s” on purpose to see if he would get any reaction from Aziraphale, seeing him biting his lip and blushing like that aroused his curiosity. 

“I’m about halfway through The Way up to Heaven, Mr. Foster is an awful man, he knows his wife is terrified to be late and he does it on purpose.”

“I remember that one, the title reminded me of you actually. I wouldn’t worry about Mrs Foster too much if I were you, she-”

“NO! No! Crowley, please don’t tell me I don’t want you to spoil it for me, the whole point is to be surprised”

“Really Angel, don’t worry about her I’m telling y-” mmmmf Crowley didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before Aziraphale captured the words with his mouth. As soon as Crowley understood what was happening it was over. 

“I’m terribly sorry Crowley I shouldn’t have done that, I didn’t want you to tell me about the ending and I really wanted to kiss you, I'm sorry it won’t happen again.   
Crowley didn’t reply, he simply kissed him again. This time he had the opportunity to enjoy it. Aziraphale didn’t kiss back right away, too surprised but it didn’t take him long. The kiss was nothing like Crowley imagined it would be. He didn’t expect Aziraphale to do something so impulsive, not that he was complaining. It was tender and sweet, he wished they didn’t need to catch their breath so they could keep going.

“Well Angel, if talking about a story you haven’t finished reading is what it takes for you to kiss me I’ll start reading more.”   
“Oh don’t be ridiculous, there’s no need to do that. You can simply ask. You would have a huge amount of reading to catch up on if you were to do that.” Aziraphale looked pleased with himself for that one. He was right there was no way Crowley could catch up with Aziraphale on reading. 

“We can talk about it once you’ve read it. Or any of the other stories if you want that’s also fine.” 

“As interesting as these short stories are darling, I would prefer to kiss you again, if you’re alright with that.”

“You don’t have to be so proper about it angel, come here.” They kissed again, both of them were ready this time but Crowley still couldn’t believe it was real. Aziraphale pulled away first and he looked absolutely gorgeous, his cheeks pink, eyes twinkling. 

“Darling ?”   
“Yes dear?”  
“No I mean, that’s what you called me, darling, you’ve never done that before. It took me a minute to realise.”   
“I suppose I didn’t, no but if you don’t like it I can stop of course.”   
“It’s alright I like it.” He didn’t just like it, it made his heart flutter.   
Crowley almost asked Aziraphale if he wanted to come back to his place to spend more time with each other but it seemed a bit much after everything that already happened today. They had time to do something like that later, maybe study together next week. Aziraphale talked about more books and his last shift at the library and that Tracy tried to coax information out of him about his date with Crowley, or as she called him “His boyfriend in the dark glasses”*. Aziraphale’s tone changed when he said that Crowley immediately went still. He didn’t expect that to come up, he didn’t expect to be kissed in the first place. His sunglasses saved him again, hiding the shock that was visible in his eyes. Apparently the rest of his face betrayed his surprise, or maybe it was his lack of response.   
(* When she said that Aziraphale insisted that it wasn’t a date, and that Crowley wasn’t his boyfriend**  
** Not yet)

“Darl-, Crowley?” Aziraphale’s voice sounded distant, Crowley struggled to come back to reality, lost in his thoughts. “Crowley?”  
“Yeah sorry, it caught me off guard sorry, you were saying?”  
“I was saying that Tracy teased me about us going on a date, she called you my boyfriend. I told her it wasn’t a date, and that you were not my boyfriend. I kept it to myself that I hoped it would change. Of course if you wanted to simply remain friends.” Aziraphale didn’t look at him as said this, he hung his head waiting for a reply. 

“What are you talking about, Angel, there’s nothing I would love more than be your boyfriend, anything you want me to be, your partner, significant other…” Relief washed over Aziraphale’s features. He didn’t speak, he leaned in to kiss Crowley, so softly it felt like he imagined it all.

“Oh darling you can’t even imagine how relieved I am that you said that. I meant it when I said we could remain friends, we still are, but I’m glad I get to do this again.” he kissed him with more confidence. 

“I had a crush on you the moment I stumbled into that cart in the lift. You lured me in with your kindness when you held the doors for me. Remember when I stumbled over the cart, I said I didn’t see, which is true but it was because I was distracted by your hair that looked like a halo with the light of the ceiling.” Aziraphale was bright red listening to Crowley recount their first meeting.   
They talked about many other things until it was time to leave again and agreed to see each other again before they had to do last minute studying for midterms. 

________________________________________

Unfortunately both of them had busy schedules and their encounters were very brief, most of the time in hallways, or in the cafeteria when they both had some free time between classes. Crowley decided against inviting Aziraphale to his flat to study because it wouldn’t be very effective for either of them. He would be too nervous about Aziraphale coming to his place for the first time, Aziraphale would probably not be very comfortable there. Not a great plan. Taking care of his plants always helped Crowley relax. It was also his favourite moment to draw up plans. This one was by far, among the most brilliant. In a week midterms would be over for everyone. Crowley was lucky enough to finish his earlier, it would last only 3 days out of 5 in total for him. He wasn’t sure about Aziraphale, maybe he had 4 days, he better check to make sure it didn’t ruin his plans. 

“I’m taking him out to eat crêpes, I know he loves them, he talked about it several times. I won’t tell him where we’re going. It will be a surprise to celebrate the end of midterms. I know I considered doing this before but now it’s different, our proper first date!” The monstera was his selected audience this time. it needed more stakes to stay up straight, and a bigger pot soon.

Midterms went by in a blur, it was stressful and tiring but it didn’t stop Aziraphale from waiting for Crowley to be done with a tougher exam with a bright smile and a coffee. Crowley did the same 2 days before after Aziraphale’s exam on Kiss Kiss. He waited for him outside the lecture hall with tea and a pastry. His angel’s reaction was well worth getting up earlier on a day off. That’s when he suggested they meet to celebrate the end of this terrible week. Aziraphale tried to make Crowley say where he intended to take him but he refused to say more than it was something they would both enjoy very much, in different ways.   
Crowley knew that he loved seeing Aziraphale happy. There’s nothing that made him happy like nice food, he absolutely loved it. His face lit up the first time he mentioned crêpes around Crowley, who didn’t suspect food could cause such an enthusiastic reaction, simply talking about it. He had no idea what it would be like when Aziraphale ate them, he was in for a treat. 

Today was the first time the pair was together for more than 20 minutes in about two weeks and with the added bonus of not worrying about the next exam. Crowley could barely contain his enthusiasm when Aziraphale joined him in front of the park bench where they agreed to meet. Aziraphale knew they were going somewhere but he had no idea where, simply that it was indeed a date. Crowley made sure he knew it. He also teased him, reminding him to tell Tracy that they were together this time and it was a date.   
Crowley was nervous it didn’t help his restlessness. Aziraphale noticed, of course he did.   
“Are you sure you’re alright my dear?” a gentle hand rested on his arm.

“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry, it’s nothing” He smiled, he would be, one he was sure Aziraphale liked the surprise. “Ready to go?”

“If you’re sure then. After you.”

The little cafe was not that far from the park, which is why Crowley suggested they meet there. Aziraphale tried to get Crowley to tell him where they were going even the puppy eye look didn’t work which was a miracle in itself. He was determined to keep this a secret until they got to the cafe. 

It didn’t take long for Aziraphale to figure it out once they stopped at the door.  
“Oh darling, you remembered I love crêpes.” With that he pulled Crowley into his arms and kissed him briefly. 

Aziraphale couldn’t decide which ones to try there were so many possibilities. Crowley wasn’t a big fan of sweet things, he did eat one to try it and had to admit they were nice. He offered to order another one so that Aziraphale didn’t have to sacrifice one of his choices. It didn’t take long for their order to arrive and when Aziraphale laid eyes on the crêpes his whole face lit up like the sun, he looked so happy. That’s the moment it hit Crowley, this wasn’t just a crush, it was so much more than that. He was falling in love there was no denying it. ngk

“Sorry, my dear, did you say something?”

“No, I, I didn't. H-how are the crêpes?” SHIT Aziraphale heard tha. It was a miracle that he managed to form a coherent sentence while his brain was going a mile a minute thinking about that revelation. It’ll have to wait a moment longer, he just asked a question he couldn’t simply ignore the answer.  
“Oh they’re scrumptious! Thank you for this lovely surprise darling.” Aziraphale reached for Crowley’s hand on the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I’m glad you like them, I thought it might be a nice place to try.” He was getting better at this, the only thing that might give away his internal turmoil was the blush he could feel on his face. Aziraphale went back to enjoying his crêpes and Crowley watched him as he went back to the “Ngk” that almost betrayed him.

It can mean many different things, it’s not the same thing twice, quite a nice “word” only 3 letters though, all of them consonants.   
It wasn’t enough to say everything he wanted to say, words wouldn’t do anyway. You can make up anything with words, shuffle them around a bit and you’ve got a completely different story if you’re attentive enough to notice. Hell even a brief silence can change things, a pause is enough to wreck something to the ground.   
“Actions were much better, solid, genuine, honest. Aziraphale deserves to know how I feel about him, to be certain, there shouldn’t be an inch of room for doubt in his mind when it comes to my love for him just like there’s barely enough room for anything else in my heart.” Crowley told himself in the confines of his mind. At least that’s what it feels like but he does have a tendency to be dramatic, his heart was perfectly fine.   
He would say the words some time, it was too soon, in the meantime he would show it to Aziraphale, hoping that the hints would be enough to prepare him for the moment Crowley finally figured out how to say it, with words. Aziraphale has a way with words, which doesn’t help lift off pressure either but none of it matters now. He has time for that. Aziraphale was with him, it was more important.   
They stayed in the cafe a while longer and went back to the park. Aziraphale didn’t forget Crowley's suggestion to discuss the rest of The Way up to Heaven. He actually offered to read it out to him. This time the grass was dry enough to sit on but they didn’t have a blanket. Aziraphale almost gave up on the idea and was heading to a bench instead. Crowley offered him his jacket to sit on if he didn’t want to risk getting grass stains on his coat. The little gasp that was heard when Aziraphale saw the tattoo on Crowley’s forearm was utterly adorable. It was a snake wrapped around an apple, protecting it. and it was designed to make it look like the snake faced the person looking at the tattoo. The snake in black and grey, the apple deep red.

“You never told me you had a tattoo! It’s absolutely gorgeous my dear!”

“It didn’t come up before, that’s all. I wasn’t hiding it from you Angel.”

“That’s not what I implied, I wasn’t expecting it that’s all. It looks amazing, it suits you.”

“Thanks, I’m thinking about getting more but I don't know what it’s going to be yet.”

“You have all the time in the word to think about it. Now if you want to join me, I’m ready.” 

Aziraphale was already settled while Crowley was still standing up, hesitated for a second before lying down and resting his head on his angel’s lap. Both commented on the story as Aziraphale read.   
Neither of them felt sorry for the husband after what happened to him. 

________________________________________

Two months had passed since their first date and it was now Aziraphale’s birthday. Crowley suggested they celebrate at his flat. The choice wasn’t insignificant, he was planning to confess his feelings to Aziraphale tonight. It was easier to do it when it was just the two of them and it also meant that Crowley could add the finishing touches to his birthday cake at the last minute. He had everything planned, cake, candle, lighter and most importantly the gift. It was harder to find that he expected but he managed to get it in time. He hoped Aziraphale would like it.  
Baking wasn’t really one of Crowley’s talents but he decided to give it a try for Aziraphale. It wasn’t much, chocolate cake with chocolate icing to make it look nicer. The kitchen was a complete mess by the time he was done but at least the cake was alright, it looked edible.   
Aziraphale would be here in about half an hour so Crowley rushed to finish preparing the gift and wrap it. The wrapping paper decided to cooperate so it only took 10 minutes. He went back to the kitchen to get the cake from the window sill and cover it with icing. The candles could wait.   
Aziraphale arrived a bit early but it wasn’t a problem, everything was ready. 

“Happy birthday Angel!!” Crowley hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Aziraphale wasn’t satisfied with this, he put his hands on Crowley’s face and gave him a kiss on the lips. 

“There, that’s what I want for my birthday, spend time with you.”

“You’re getting more than just plain old me Angel, I’ve got cake and a present. Now take off your coat and make yourself at home, I’ll get the cake. Fair warning I added the candles, not all 22 of them, just the numbers.”

“You shouldn’t have gone through all the trouble my dear.”

“It’s too late now, everything is ready, so sit back and enjoy okay ?” Crowley went to his bedroom to get the present to the kitchen before putting the candle on the cake and lighting them. He joined Aziraphale in the living room, he didn’t sing to him to spare them both the embarrassment. Aziraphale was looking at him, it was almost like he was about to cry, there was something else dancing around in those beautiful blue eyes.   
“What’s wrong Angel? is my cake so awful to look at it makes you want to cry?” Crowley was teasing but he was scared something was actually wrong. 

“You made that cake? For me ?” Oh Crowley, I… thank you, I’m sure it’s going to be delicious.”

“I’m not making promises, I followed the recipe though. I’ll be right back with a knife and everything else but first blow the candles before they melt on the cake.”  
Aziraphale blew the candles, Crowley took them back to the kitchen and came back with everything they needed to eat the cake and the gift.   
“How do you want to do this? cake or present first?” 

“As much as I want to try your cake darling, the shape of the gift is really interesting and I must admit I’m curious as to what it might be.”

“Here, I hope you like it, happy birthday Angel.” Crowley nervously watched Aziraphale unwrap the vintage leather bound copy of Hamlet.

“Oh darling, it’s absolutely perfect, I love it thank you!”

“There’s more, look inside” Crowley was getting nervous now as Azirphale opened the book at the first page marked with a post and he looked confused for a moment and was about to ask why, but Crowley gestured for him to look at the next one, so he did. This time he didn’t ask and simply looked at the third one, it’s when he understood. He went to the fourth and last one. He closed the book and grabbed Crowley’s face to kiss him, tears wetting his cheeks.

“ Crowley, how couldn’t I be in love with you?”

“You are? really? ” 

“Yes of course, I wouldn’t tell you otherwise would I ?”

“No probably not, but wait until after you try the cake before you say that, it might change your mind.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’m sure it won’t be that bad! Even if it’s terrible it can’t change the way I feel about you.”

“If you’re sure, then. Let’s try it.” Crowley cut the cake and gave a slice to Aziraphale.

“It’s delicious Crowley, you should do it again.” Crowley tried it himself, it wasn’t the best he’d had but it was okay and Aziraphale liked it, it's all that matters. 

“ I can make that happen Angel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for these boys. I hope you enjoy this! <3

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it so far, we come back to Crowley going to the library two days after his first meeting with Aziraphale and what happens then. The next chapter is probably going to be a bit different now that the context is in place, we'll focus on them more. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! <3


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